


the exalted king

by ggeneral



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-27 22:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6302398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ggeneral/pseuds/ggeneral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of course, that would be the only order, Hux thinks bitterly. Drag Kylo Ren’s sorry arse back to Snoke. Simple enough, but Hux does wonder if Snoke would be kind enough to bother offering any other sort of guidance. It wasn’t that Hux needed guidance, he’d just prefer if the Supreme Leader had a better priority list. </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>post-movie AU where Hux and Kylo are sent across the galaxy to retrieve force-artefacts for Snoke and decide along the way that overthrowing the throne is a much better idea. eventual emperor AU. Rating may go up (for violence).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> // ok so here's the beginning of what I hope will be a multi-chapter poetic snarky bullshit fic. It's an AU, but just diverging from canon. This is low-key kylux.  
> At the moment, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this (but I do have a loose plan) but I hope you enjoy !

The base rumbles beneath his feet like some great beast, and it feels as though the entire planet is rocking on its hinges only moments before collapse. Fissures hiss and run up the walls of his hell-bent palace, and his vision lurches as he stumbles forward from the force of the tremors. Hux had planned for every single outcome, or so he’d thought – it had been meticulous planning, all in order to avoid the humiliatingly simple end that befell the Empire’s two Death Stars. Yet, fate is a bitch, and Starkiller base is coming to its rapid collapse thanks to a handful of resistance X-wing fighters and a delusional, half-mad force user (plus his family issues).

Hux hadn’t wanted to abandon his post on the bridge by the windows of the observation deck, but he had felt compulsively obligated to tell the Supreme Leader what had become of the super-weapon. The ceiling shakes as he runs the hallways to the conference chamber, cracks appearing in the pristine panelling, and Hux can barely hear the click-slap of his footfalls over the rumbling.

They have very little time left. Perhaps a half-hour, before everything will be gone to the void of space; years and years of his life’s work as scattered debris. Adrenaline keeps the unappreciated emotional reaction he might’ve been having to this terrible failure away (thankfully – emotions were inconvenient and uncomfortable). Hux comes to a hurried halt by the door, and finds he doesn’t need to bother with the hand-print scanner since it’s been dislodged from the wall by half a fallen ceiling beam. The door is jammed open halfway, and he ducks under it into the conference chamber. Snoke is there already, and it occurs to Hux that he needn’t have come to inform the Supreme Leader of the imminent disaster, since the force-user must’ve already sensed it.

Hux almost trips up when a huge chunk of crumbling rock falls to the side of his path. He doesn’t think he could handle any more humiliation, so he’s glad it remains an _almost._ Debris falls through the huge hologram of the Supreme Leader, distorting the image, making the man (if he could be called such a thing) even uglier than usual.

“Supreme Leader, the collapse of the planet’s core has begun,” Hux has to raise his voice over the crumbling room. Dust and debris choke the air, and he can’t keep all of the resigned doom from his voice. He speaks with an ironic flair for dramatics, and wonders where along the way he’d picked up such a habit. Snoke doesn’t look as bothered as he should. A shard of rock falls through the hologram, straight through where the force-user’s brain would be. The stuttering hologram leans forward, and Hux finds the strange eagerness repulsive – doesn’t Snoke realise what will become of the Order once this disaster has played out?

“Bring Kylo Ren to me, it is time to complete his training,”

-

_Of course, that would be the only order,_ Hux thinks bitterly. Drag Kylo Ren’s sorry arse back to Snoke. Simple enough, but Hux does wonder if Snoke would be kind enough to bother offering any other sort of guidance. It wasn’t that Hux _needed_ guidance, he’d just prefer if the Supreme Leader had a better priority list.

Hux leaves the conference chamber and wonders briefly how much longer the ceiling in there will last, how much longer the base itself will last before fissures split it clean in half. He makes his way hastily to the Officer’s flight hangar, snagging three panicked Stormtroopers on his path there, ordering their accompaniment. They obey, of course, maybe thankful for the direction. He takes a generic errand shuttle, since his own shuttle is not in this hangar. Hux overrides the lock on the spacecraft with his own code, and orders one of the ‘troopers to pilot the shuttle out of the hangar, as quickly as possible. The base is in chaos, the hangar is falling to pieces, and outside is even worse.

Kylo Ren has a tracker in his belt, because Hux instructed its placement there once. He doubts it’s still attached, and is surprised when he receives the signal when he goes looking. He wonders why the force-user never removed it, because he knew it wouldn’t be because of lack of skill or knowledge. The Knight was perfectly capable of disabling the tracker. The shuttle lifts through the door of the hangar, fighting against winds that whip round its short wings. The sky is painted a ghastly mix of deep blue, dirty yellow, and a blatant red; the mountain formations of Starkiller base stand silhouetted against the fiery backdrop, but even they are not immovable against the deep tremors of the collapsing core.

The tracker leads them to an area of forested ground that’s half a kilometre large. Hux barks at the ‘trooper that’s piloting the ship to land the shuttle in a clear circle of forest, and then orders the other two men to lower the ramp and exit the spacecraft with him. Outside the craft, the ground is frost-bitten and shaking, the air fluctuates between bitingly cold and strangely warm. Hux sends the two troopers off in separate directions under instructions to find Kylo Ren, and goes another way himself to hunt for the wayward Knight.

He pulls his greatcoat tighter around himself and the snowflakes that hit his face feel more like ice than anything else. His hair whips around his eyes, pulled from its usual uniform neatness. The forest is backlit by the hideous warmth of the base on fire, and all he can hear is the wind and the rumbling, trembling planet core. He curses Kylo Ren and his ridiculous theatrics, thinks briefly of just leaving the Knight behind; Snoke is likely to kill the General anyway, so what he does now hardly matters. He pushes the thought aside bitterly, decides he must follow through with Snoke’s orders. Through the storm and the falling branches it’s hard to see anything further than a couple of metres in front of him, and Hux curses under his breath when he spots the slumped black figure of Kylo Ren sprawled in the snow next to a gaping chasm. The Knight would only have to be knocked a couple of metres before he would’ve been swallowed up by the chasm.

Hux runs to the Knight’s side, dropping to a crouch beside him, and pushes Kylo over onto his back. The Knight is mostly unconscious and his breathing is choppy, ragged, his robes are a mess of sticky black blood and torn fabric. An ugly gash splits Kylo’s face in two, strands of hair and flecks of dirt stuck to the mess of his forehead. The injury runs down his jaw, skims across the side of his neck and tapers to his shoulder. The flesh is messy and mutilated – the arm is likely useless, now, tendons torn and painful. If Hux was a kinder man, he might’ve felt sympathetic, or pitied him. Kylo Ren had fallen to disgrace, just as Hux has.

_You’re a disgrace, and you will die a disgrace, you great bloody moron,_ Hux thinks, hating the Knight in that moment more than he has ever hated him yet. The statement feels familiar, and he wonders if he’s ever said it to Kylo before.

Hux doesn’t have time to check the man properly for injuries, not with the rate the planet is collapsing. He thumbs the comm unit on his belt to let the ‘troopers know that their search is concluded, and slings one of the prone Knight’s arms over his shoulders. Kylo Ren is dead weight, too heavy to lift properly, so Hux half-drags half-carries him back to the shuttle; the distance feels much greater now than it had before. He drops him, once, as the planet lurches violently. Part of him is glad that the Knight is not dead, but he doesn’t have time to examine the feeling or its origin, just acknowledges it’s there with a disgruntled reluctance. His legs and shoulders burn with the effort of carrying so much dead weight, and his uniform is smeared with ugly crimson stains from the Knight’s numerous injuries.

-

Kylo is barely conscious when the General arrives and pushes him over onto his back, his face cast in shadow against the sickly backdrop of radiated fire. Kylo is momentarily overwhelmed by the unintentional feedback he picks up from Hux – feverish urgency, anxiety, a sick feeling of dread mingled with disgust. The General projects hatred blindly, at Kylo and everything else around them, uncharacteristically unrestrained.

Kylo sees the General’s mouth moving, and figures he must be saying something, but the Knight cannot hear anything other than the trembling ground under his head that rattles his skull, and the blood roaring in his ears. The bowcaster wound in his side feels numb, sluggish, but doesn’t hurt too much if he doesn’t move too much. The gash across his face burns violently, half-cauterized and weeping blood, his skin pulled taut over his nose. One eye is half-closed, hooded in bleary semi-consciousness, the other is squinted tight shut and watering red-tinged tears. He supposes he should be thankful he isn’t blind in that eye, as far as he knows.

His vision is swimming, barely functioning, and what he can see is marred with light-stains of red and blue from the previous battle. His gut twists in brief recollection, but he doesn’t have the mental capacity to feel the full-force of his errors just yet, not at the moment. The anger is inescapable, however, and he can do nothing to push it away or act upon it. Kylo scrabbles at consciousness, his limbs are sluggish and won’t move, and he can’t do anything to protest against the General pulling him half to his feet. The wound in his side protests wildly at the movement, the pain makes his head swim, and he waves goodbye to his awareness as the dark pulls him under.

The ‘troopers help Hux get Kylo Ren on board the shuttle, and they lay him down on the temporary medical table in the cargo bay. The shuttle is built with the minimum in mind, more of a brief transportation ship than anything else, not suited to treat battle wounds such as the one’s that Kylo is sporting. Hux moves to the cockpit with an agitated urgency, snaps at the pilot to leave immediately, to get away from the collapsing core as quickly as possible. The craft lifts up and almost crashes when the planets staggers beneath them.

-

The shuttle falls from hyperdrive with a jolt just beyond the blast radius of the collapsing planet, and when Hux looks out the window there’s nothing left to see – they will jump again soon, once in contact with the communications upon the _Finalizer_. There’s no glorious light-show or explosion, no remnants that resemble the superweapon that once sat there. They are too far away to even see any of the rubble or debris left behind. There is nothing there. Hux does not linger for more than a fleeting moment at the window, pushes aside the sickening feeling pooling in his stomach at the disaster.  

He moves back to where Kylo Ren is lying prone on the bare medical table, raggedy cloak hanging off the side of the metal surface. The two ‘troopers who are there look pathetically lost, unsure of what to do – what they have clearance to do. Hux’s face twists into a sneer as he orders them away, irrationally angry at the moronic-looking helmets that stare blankly back at him. He will tend to this pathetic disaster himself; not because he is desperate for distraction (at least, this is what he tells himself), but because the Supreme Leader has given his orders and Hux intends to fulfil them. If Snoke requires Kylo Ren to return to him, then that is what will happen.

The General pulls the basic medi-kit from the cargo-hold’s wall, shrugging off his greatcoat and dropping it across one of the seats fastened to the same wall. The coat will need meticulous washing to get the blood smears from the wool.

Kylo Ren is still out cold, thankfully, face slack with pale unconsciousness. Hux pulls the man’s cloak off his shoulders and leaves it in a crumpled pile on the floor. This reveals the shoulder wound fully, where the flesh is torn and red-rimmed.  Hux is not squeamish, and he went through the same medical training as every other First Order officer, so he’s capable of emergency first-aid. However, he is not a particular fan of it, and there is very little he will be able to do for the Knight. He needs proper medical attention with these injuries – something only accessible once they get back to the _Finalizer._

Hux hopes that Kylo Ren will stay unconscious for the proceedings, as he pulls off the Knight’s belt and drops it beside his cloak. It had been doing a decent job of staunching most of the blood-flow;  now that it’s gone, the wound renews its sluggish bleeding, already beginning to stain the medical table. When the robe is pushed aside and the wound is displayed in all its horrific glory, Hux figures is must be the result of something stronger than a blaster – a bowcaster, perhaps. There had been reports of a Wookie on Starkiller base from the surveillance teams. The skin around the wound is purpled with bruises and crimson with blood-stain.

Hux can only clean the wound and cover it in a temporary second-skin, then wrap bandages round the Knight’s middle in an effort to stop the bleeding and keep it free of infection.  He cleans up the gash on Kylo Ren’s face and shoulder, shoving black hair out of the way and brushing away the dirt with antiseptic, particularly mindful of where the gash touches upon the man’s right eye. The Knight does not wake during the entire ordeal, not even when Hux pushes an antibiotics dose into the man’s bloodstream, or an anti-radiation injection. The General takes his own dose of anti-rad tablets, before he forgets, after he washes off the bloodstains from his hands. The General lingers by the Knight’s side, feeling strangely void of purpose. He is more weary than angry, now. But the hatred still lingers.

He had planned for every outcome.

Except, as it was now clear, for this particular outcome. He knew, had always known, that Kylo was irrational and foolish and a dozen other words, but had also trusted that the man had _some_ inkling of intelligence or foresight. What foolish assumption that was, in hindsight.

He leaves Kylo to the empty cargo-hold and the engine’s low humming. He takes up vigil in the cockpit, and the ‘troopers lingering fear is tangible in the air. Hux orders the pilot to set course to rendezvous with the _Finalizer_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo awakens back on the Finalizer, and a meeting with Snoke is on schedule // 
> 
> EDIT :: chapter re-written on 25/03/2016 ---- almost completely rewritten, but doesn't change too much plotline, but a fair amount..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay here's the second chapter, and it reveals quite a bit of the plot, hope you like it!!

Their arrival back upon the _Finalizer_ is welcomed with a level of trepidation and resignation, as though no one really wishes to mention the Starkiller incident, but has no choice but to do just that. Hux resumes his occupation as General upon the huge ship, grateful for the easy re-admission into his role, for something to think about other than the destruction of several years of work and the ensuing massive amounts of debt in funds and staff. Many of the First Order’s most talented and skilled soldiers and officers had been present on the planet at the time of the collapse, and most had not yet returned to the _Finalizer –_ and so presumed dead.

There is mountains of work to be done in the aftermath of the super-weapon’s destruction, and whilst Hux welcomes the excuse to avoid sleep, it is a constant reminder of the imminent consequences he would receive because of his failure. He would face the Supreme Leader with no less degree of pride and propriety than he normally did, but he could not help but the feel the dread of such a meeting. No matter how much he squashes it, the fear still remains.

Kylo Ren is carted off to the medical wing as soon as they arrive, his injuries categorized as near-critical. Thankfully, the Knight is still out cold, and so the medical staff are able to administer anaesthetic without being decapitated or facing any such unfortunate end. General Hux doesn’t accompany the unconscious knight to the medical facilities, but he does request the occasional progress report on the operation and to be told when the Knight seems to be waking up. He feels unfortunately responsible for Kylo’s successful recovery, since the Supreme Leader’s orders require the knight capable of completing training, and it wouldn’t do for Hux to present Snoke with a half-dead (or full-dead) Kylo Ren.

When Kylo Ren wakes a day later, he doesn’t know where he is, but the sluggish weight of his limbs and bleary sense of self keeps him from bolting upright and attacking the nearest threat. He can hardly yet open his eyes, and his body feels slow and painful all over. A dread settles on his chest, uncomfortable and foreign. He reaches out with weak tendrils of the force, senses the sleek walls of the room, the medical apparatus, the semi-soft bed he’s lying on. He flexes his hands slightly, loses his breath for a moment at the unexpected pain the movement shoots up his right arm and shoulder.

The room feels slightly cold, despite the regulated temperature that Kylo knows is there. He figures he must be back upon the _Finalizer_ and is momentarily confused at how he got there. From what he remembers, he should’ve been swallowed up by the collapsing core of Starkiller, shamed and beaten by a meagre scavenger whelp. He might’ve welcomed a swifter death, perhaps still does, but his mind is too fuzzy to think it properly. Unconsciousness claws at the edges of his mind before he’s even opened his eyes, muzzy and unfocused, and he abandons the impending rush of failure and fury to welcome the blissful ignorance of sleep.

-

The next time he wakes, his mind is considerably clearer, and he can hear the steady beeping of a heart monitor that he must be hooked up to. He can feel an IV drip in his arm, and when he shifts in discomfort he’s reminded of the gaping hole in his side. A fiery pain radiates from it, sickening, making the low temperature of the medical wing inconsequential in comparison. His shoulder feels the same way, albeit less so, accompanied by a different kind of incessant, aching pain, and some other strange feeling that he can’t quite understand. A phantom hurt.

He pries open his eyes, one going easier than the other; scrunches up his face as he does so, stretching the taut skin over his nose and round his right eye where the half-cauterized gash is still healing. He feels parts of the tender skin break. His vision in one eye is clear but a little unfocused from exhaustion, yet the other doesn’t sit right with him at all– black around the edges, fuzzier than it should be. It dawns upon him that his new scar has half-blinded him in that eye, and he cannot quell the rising panic quick enough. He allows the feeling to mutilate into an anger, a frustration, blaming it wholeheartedly on the scavenger girl and not his own incompetence. He will not let them heal the scar further than they already have. It is his own reminder, and he will force himself to wear it with a strange pride (he hopes, foolishly, that it might frighten people just like his lost helmet did).

He is vaguely aware of the heart monitor’s beeping becoming somewhat erratic, likely sending error messages to medical staff and droids alike. He wants to move from the bed he’s lying in, to destroy something, to kill something, to feel power and control like he’s so used to. Being injured has never been a favourite pastime of the knight’s, and now is worse than ever, considering the reason for his injuries. He feels sick, thinking back to the end of Starkiller, of the incident on the bridge. The memory brings fresh fury, for he feels a terrible guilt, and hates that he feels _anything_ for what he’s done – he is supposed to feel nothing for it, just as the Supreme Leader told him.

He is so consumed by this barrage of thought that he hardly notices the arrival of several people outside the room he’s being held in. Once he does, he takes note of the fact that he is in a section of the med-bay all by himself, away from other patients, no company except the odd medical droid. He knows exactly why.

There are four people, just outside of the door. Kylo wants to get up, tell them to leave him alone, but he is powerless to move all that much without collapsing (a fact he’s already sick of knowing). Kylo also knows that he is freely projecting angry hatred through the force, enough to affect whoever comes near, a precursory warning that he wishes not to be approached. It usually works on the staff all over the _Finalizer,_ causing an instinctual reaction. The door to the room slides open to reveal the head officer of this medical sector, clutching a clipboard and nervous disposition, followed by General Hux, flanked by two storm troopers. Kylo curls his hands into fists, suddenly remembering exactly the reason he managed to survive the collapse of Starkiller base.

Kylo does not look at the General, but instead stares above at the ceiling, his right eye falling into an automatic squint because of its current discomfort. His right shoulder aches. Hux dismisses the ‘troopers with him and tells them to stand just outside the door, and soon also dismisses the medic once being told briefly about the Knight’s medical condition. Kylo can sense exactly where Hux stands without looking at him; Hux has a recognisable force-signature, a mixture of unpleasant, wiry energy and commanding pride, and an incessant nervousness that the General is constantly trying to ignore. That, and his current exaggerated dislike of Kylo Ren.

“Ren,” Hux barks, and Kylo doesn’t turn his eyes to him straight away, reluctant to look at the unpleasant sneer on the General’s face. When he does turn to look at him, Hux is wearing the exact look he’d anticipated – an obvious ‘I don’t want to be here but I’m obligated to be’ expression.

“General,” Kylo replies, voice scratchy with disuse and mouth dry.

“Supreme Leader Snoke has ordered that you may complete your training,” Hux begins, voice as clipped as ever, wasting no time with frivolities or how-are-you’s. Kylo half-grunts in reply. He had wondered when he would be getting his orders from the Supreme Leader, and what they would be. He knows he will face punishment for his failure to retrieve the map to Skywalker _and_ success in almost dying at the hands of a meagre scavenger girl.

“You will stay here until healed enough to hold conference with the Supreme Leader,” Hux states, in a voice that leaves no room for argument. Kylo can sense the underlying uncertainty of the General - Hux knows that Kylo might try to leave the medbay despite his orders, and that he is nearly powerless to stop him. Kylo is affronted by the orders; the Knight feels that he does not need long in the medbay, and will leave as immediately as he is able (or not, he’ll leave whenever he wants to), cleared or not.

Kylo wishes then that he had his lightsaber with him – he feels too vulnerable without the weapon on his belt or in his hand. He’s trained so long with a lightsaber that it might as well have been an extension of his own limb. If he had the weapon on him now, no-one would be able to question his leaving the medbay to recuperate in his own quarters, undisturbed.

“Where’s my lightsaber?” Kylo asks, interrupting Hux just as the man looks as though he might say something else. The General hesitates a moment.

“It was recovered,” Hux says simply, which annoys Kylo. He knows Hux knows where the ‘saber is.

“Give it to me,” he insists.

“You cannot be trusted with it, not in this state.”

“I can easily find it,” Kylo says, because it’s true (mostly – it might take him a while on a ship so large and injuries so significant).

“You can barely stand,” Hux counters easily, boredly. Kylo scowls horribly and looks away, hates that he isn’t wearing his helmet. Hux has seen his face far too many times for the Knight’s comfort; it now feels like a weakness, like something the General might use against him at some point. Kylo knows that he is too free with his expressions and shows his emotions too easily without the helmet. His helmet surely went down with the bridge where he left it, on the Starkiller.

Kylo hates this, being so powerless in the presence of his rival. His hands are still tensely curled into fists, fingernails digging into the soft pads of his palm. He uncurls his right hand, feeling tendons and muscles pull strangely, catching his own attention and eyes.

Ah, well. That’s why it feels different.

“Is it working?” Hux asks, peering at Kylo’s right arm from where he stands a safe few feet away. The skin of Kylo’s right arm is interwoven with silver strips of metal where tendons and ligaments and muscle might follow, running all the way from his shoulder down to his wrist and knuckles. The metal is smooth and moves almost flawlessly when the Knight lifts his arm and flexes the muscles experimentally. He had wondered, when the scavenger girl had sliced the gash through his face and shoulder, whether that right arm might ever work properly again – clearly the medical crew upon the _Finalizer_ had taken care of the problem. Kylo then wonders if it was under Supreme Leader Snoke’s orders, because this modification must’ve taken a decent amount of First Order research and resources.

“Ah, good. The medics were not sure, when they were installing it. It hadn’t been fully trialled before,” Hux continues (although he doesn’t particularly pleased, nor particularly bothered), despite the fact that Kylo had never answered his question. Kylo drags his eyes away from the arm and its new, sleek metal implants, to glare at the General.

“Not tested?” Kylo hisses – he does not appreciate being a medical guinea-pig for any of the First Order’s medical staff.

“Don’t be a brat. If you’d rather have no use of that arm at all, they can always be removed,” Hux snarls right back, wearing his customary look of distaste.

Both men consider the other completely insufferable in that moment, but Kylo then senses that the medical staff had been ordered to fix up Kylo’s arm by _Hux_ , not Snoke. Kylo turns his eyes back to the ceiling, still flexing his fingers and not knowing when he’ll get used to the feeling of metal replacing half the flesh of his arm. Hux lets him know that if he should begin to terrorize the staff in the medbay, then he’ll know about it, and that he shouldn’t be doing such a thing. Kylo ignores him and resolves to terrorize his way out of there as soon as possible. As the General leaves, Kylo wishes the doors on this ship were suitable for slamming closed.

-

Hux had thought (extremely briefly) that Kylo Ren might’ve been co-operative and stay within the medbay without trouble. Yet, it was less than a day and a half since the Knight had first woken up that three nurses had requested reassignment, and there were numerous reports from the med-sector of damaged equipment and droids. At that point, the General orders for Kylo to be allowed to return to the Knight’s own quarters, accompanied by a medical droid and left to his own devices. If Kylo Ren wants to destroy his own quarters, that’s up to him.

When Kylo finally emerges from his quarters half a week after reaching the _Finalizer,_ he carries a heavy presence just as usual, but this time wears no mask. His face is a sickly pale, only slowly regaining its colour, and bisected by that ugly scar. One eye is milky white around most of the iris, clearly not as a functional as the other. The Knight looms upon the bridge, his presence commanding even whilst injured and wayward and getting used to having metal musculature in his right arm – it was an air that Hux had spent his whole life cultivating, and to see a man such as _Kylo Ren_ carry it with no effort or schooling was infuriating. Despite the fact that the Knight was yet to actually cause any disruption on the rest of the ship, Hux could hardly stand to have his presence upon the bridge whilst trying to command his crew. He decides then that the Knight _must_ be fit to be handed over to Snoke by now, to complete his bloody training.

-

Hux is summoned to the conference chamber upon the _Finalizer_ by Supreme Leader Snoke himself. The General had been expecting to receive co-ordinates, not a hologram conference, in order to bring Kylo Ren to the Supreme Leader so that they could complete their force bullshit together. Hux decides not to trouble himself with the complications of that and just get this meeting over with, so he can return to trawling through paperwork and overworking himself to get the First Order’s feet back under them. When he arrives outside the conference chamber, he is reluctant to go inside. His palms are sweaty.

Since Starkiller, he hasn’t exactly been optimistic about this particular meeting. In fact, he’s quite certain the consequences for the disaster will be considerably unpleasant. Perhaps he’ll be killed off then and there, by Kylo. What a pathetic end that would be.

He places his hand against the hand-scanner next to the door, and the door slides up with a soft hiss. A rush of cold air pushes through the doorway, and Hux is grateful for the greatcoat he is wearing (freshly scrubbed clean and pressed) as he steps into the chamber and makes his way up the pathway. Snoke’s hologram is hunched over on his stone throne as usual, just as gnarled and scarred and unnecessarily dark-side as he normally is. Hux finds himself offended by how little the Supreme Leader has changed since the last time he made conference with him, even though that was little over a week ago. The thought is foolish and unfounded, but Hux lets himself think it.

Kylo is there, standing in front of the Supreme Leader and still talking as though the General had not yet arrived. Hux knows that the Knight is aware of his presence, but is too occupied with explaining himself to his master that he doesn’t bother to glance around. Kylo’s voice is softer without his helmet, slightly strange but still deep. It irritates Hux. He strides up beside the knight, sneering back at him when he glances over. Hux can see easily from the Knight’s stance that his injuries still bother him – his slouch is more pronounced than normal, and one arm is clearly favoured over the other. The Knight’s face periodically twitches or scrunches, his scar uncomfortable and itchy from being half-healed.

“General,” Snoke turns to Hux when seemingly finished with his apprentice. Hux forces himself not to convey _any_ of the apprehension that he is feeling.

“Supreme Leader, allow me to apologize for the First Order’s recent undoi-“

“ _You’re_ recent undoings, General?” Snoke cuts him off. Hux almost stutters off to silence.

“The destruction of Starkiller base is a huge blow to the Order, but I’m certain that we will be able to regain control of both finan-“Hux continues, but Snoke raises his hand to silence the General. He cuts himself off, falling silent and deciding it best not to push his luck.

“General Hux, your failure to defeat the Resistance’s attack on Starkiller base is unfortunate, but not irreparable. You will face consequences,” Snoke’s scarred hand curls round the arm of his throne as he speaks, and he leans forward slightly. Hux swallows nervously before replying with hastened control.

“Allow me to repair the damage, Supreme Leader – I am confident that the First Order will be able to recover from this loss. The resistance _will_ be dealt with,” Hux barks back, sounding sharp and slightly rushed to his own ears. He wants to glance beside him at Ren, but forces himself not to. He can almost feel the smugness rolling off the Knight, and it angers him that the force-user seems to be getting out of this tragedy unharmed.

“That won’t be necessary,” Snoke says, and Hux stares back at him for a moment, confused, and then is filled with dread at what is implied by the words. Death, or dismissal – he cannot decide which is worse.

“Supreme Leader?” Hux prompts, when Snoke does not offer any further explanation.

“There is another task for you, General,”

“Master, I can retrieve the artefacts without assistance, I assure you, the General need not accompany me,” Kylo steps forward slightly as he states this, an unmasked urgency to his tone. Hux turns his head to study the Knight, still confused. Artefacts? Accompaniment?

Oh. _Fucking_ hell.

Snoke dismisses Kylo with a wave of his hand, and addresses Hux as though his apprentice had said nothing.

“General Hux, you will accompany Kylo Ren on his next training endeavour. Your second-in-command will take charge of your duties during your absence,” Snoke tells Hux, but offers no further elaboration. Hux can figure it out for himself, and he’s already dreading the admittance of it out loud. He aches to outright refuse the order, but not even a fool would dare do such a thing – looks like he’ll be joining Kylo Ren on a trip to retrieve more magical bullshit that never seems to amount to anything, whilst the Order attempts to recover from a horrific disaster. Dismissal sounds almost appealing compared with _that_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kylo and hux set off towards their first destination - a small icy planet named AN-031.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25/03/2016 - okay, if you're not new to this story, I rewrote chapter 2 today, so I recommend you re-read the previous chapter before this one !! thanks // 
> 
> but if not, then here's the next installment // hope you enjoy!!

( **a/n - please check the notes above ^^^ thanks // )**

Hux is dismissed from the conference chamber a moment before Kylo. His mind tries to comprehend the mission he’s been given without short-circuiting; he doesn’t have time for foolish errands such as this (such a traitorous thought should be berated, he thinks briefly) – the First Order will continue to crash and burn without a decent leader, and Hux has no idea who the Supreme Leader has picked to take the his place. He’ll have to inspect them, whoever they are, and perhaps threats will be needed in order for them to do their job properly.

A moment later, Kylo Ren exits the chamber to find the General still loitering outside. Hux looks up at him, a glare ready on his face. Kylo isn’t interested in arguing or fighting with the General – he can’t kill him, not if the Supreme Leader wants Hux to accompany Kylo on these errands - so what’s the point in any much conflict, for the moment. He’s sure there will be plenty of that to come.

“ _Ren,”_ Hux barks as Kylo is about to leave down the hallway and disappear. Kylo looks back, and wishes for his missing helmet, knowing his face will betray him on the emotion-showing front.  

“Pack your things, General, we leave in the morning,” Kylo states. Hux is clearly looking for a fight, for some way to ascertain his control of the situation. Hux looks affronted at what Kylo says, even if only minutely.

“Excuse me? No, I must first ensure that the Order is in good hands in my absence –“Hux begins, snarling.

“Then get it done before the morning,” Kylo counters and feels smug for it. Hux, for all his control and impassiveness, is surprisingly easy to rile up.

“Is the Supreme Leader always this cryptic? I’d appreciate some more information, if you’re capable of giving that,” Hux says, scowling.

“I wouldn’t speak so boldly against Supreme Leader’s orders if I were you,” Kylo says, and ignores the second statement. Of course he knows where he’s going to go to retrieve what his Master has asked of him, and he’ll send the General the co-ordinates later on. Even injured, Kylo’s presence looms before the General, and the Knight will forever lord over his few inches of height advantage. Hux falls into seething silence, but does not drop his glare, and the argument seems to have been won.

-

Kylo is ready to leave the _Finalizer_ immediately from being given his orders from Snoke, but knows that giving the General a few hours to sort out whatever hierarchy bullshit he’s so bothered by is a much wiser option. There are supplies already on the Knight’s command shuttle, and he arrives there two hours before morning upon the _Finalizer_ is officially clocked.

If his loyalty and trust in the Supreme Leader were not so great, Kylo Ren would’ve allowed himself several computer units to destroy in a fit of rage. Yet, he knows that the Supreme Leader wanted Hux to accompany him for reasons unbeknownst to the Knight himself, but they must be good ones. The Supreme Leader could’ve simply ordered the General’s death right then and there, in the conference chamber, and Kylo would’ve been obliged to commit the act himself. He tells himself he would’ve appreciated the action, but doesn’t dwell on the topic for fear of finding that that might not be the truth.

Hux is trained, yes, and he is capable. But, he is not a force-user. Kylo has already begun to assume that it doesn’t matter to the Supreme Leader whether the General returns alive or not – he is, after all, very much replaceable. The mission must require a non-force-user in some way, surely, since there is no other explanation.

There are four artefacts for the two of them to retrieve – upon four different planets on the outskirts of the mid-rim, falling between the line of mid-rim and outer-rim. They are old planets, and all four are wildly different in climate and dangers. The trip would’ve been easy enough by himself, but Kylo supposes having to deal with the General along the way is just another way of training. He gets the feeling that meditation will be a frequent aspect of whatever downtime he’ll get.

He inputs the co-ordinates for the first planet into his command shuttle’s computer system – a small, number-named planet uninhabited by any recorded intelligent civilisation and tempered by cold storms and shallow oceans. It was once home to a small number of force-users that held allegiance to neither the dark nor the light, and had once been seen as the perfect place for a temple of sorts, to stow away matters of high energy and powerful objects. The small planet had befallen attack in older times, and no-one lived there anymore.

General Hux arrives upon the shuttle exactly the time at which he had been told, not a moment too soon or too late. He looks neither flustered nor angry about the situation, and seems to have pushed aside any apprehensions. Kylo automatically feels his force-presence coming up the ramp into the ship, the same coiled energy as always, along with an underlying annoyance and shame. The General does not much appreciate having to give up his position upon the _Finalizer_ in order to accompany a hated rival on a trip he seems to be considering his last. Hux has no idea what lies ahead for him, but he can make an educated guess, and settles with the idea that he should prepare for several life-or-death situations. Kylo finds this cruelly amusing.

Hux appears in the cockpit, wearing his greatcoat but foregoing the hat, carrying what Kylo assumes is essentials in a duffle bag. The force-user hopes the General had the foresight to pack something warm, considering the planet that they’re headed to first, and then realises that _of course_ Hux would be completely prepared in whatever what he could think of. The General was notorious for planning, for knowing what someone was going to do before they even did it themselves (well, at least, it was a common occurrence. He could not predict everything, obviously).  Kylo does not bother to turn around in the pilot’s seat he’s taken up, and with a little reaching, he can sense exactly the question Hux wants to bark. Kylo rolls his eyes.

“No, we aren’t bringing ‘troopers with us,” Kylo says, annoyed. What an absurd suggestion. Hux’s mind splutters a moment, before realising that Kylo had been rooting around in his head.

“Stay out of my head, _Ren.”_ The General hisses, marching round so that Kylo has no choice but to see him out of the corner of his eye. Kylo glances at him.

“We can’t take anyone else with us,” Kylo sets the shuttle’s engines to power-up. He wishes to leave as soon as possible. In fact, he wishes to get this over with as soon as possible – it’s not just the idea of working with someone he hates, but the pull of curiosity over the artefacts. He knows they must be powerful in some way and he is almost desperate to find out how.

“Why not?” Hux replies, even though he’s perfectly aware of why not. He hadn’t even been planning on voicing the question, but decides to argue the toss over it simply because Ren had pulled it from his head. The Knight had no business being in anyone’s mind, let alone Hux’s. Kylo doesn’t answer, but instead continues to scowl at the control panel in front of him, flicking switches and bringing the engines to life. Hux scoffs quietly and eyes the co-pilot seat. He doesn’t want to sit down – he wants to pace, but won’t allow himself to. He digs his nails into the palms of his hands so that they bite the skin there.  

Kylo lifts up the landing gear and lets the shuttle lift into the air of the hangar, contacting flight control and requesting leave from the hangar doors. They respond instantly, and the large bay doors slide open smoothly, revealing the empty void of space outside the _Finalizer_. The huge ship is currently taking refuge in a scarcely-populated sector of space, far from the prying hands of the Resistance and whatever is left of the Republic.

-

Kylo Ren keeps an eye on the shuttle’s systems as they are jumping through space; a several-hour long hyperspace jump will get them to the first planet. Hux had finally taken the co-pilot seat, staring resolutely out of the front of the ship, refusing to speak or look at Kylo. The General’s nervous force-presence is mildly irritating, and Kylo is thankful for that one training session where Snoke had taught him how to truly ignore someone.

Kylo considers meditating, but keeping track of the shuttle takes too much of his attention to truly sink into meditation, and his injuries still ache incessantly (he refused to take any pain meds for them). Instead, he finds himself casting back to Starkiller, to the girl and her traitor friend. The thoughts make him shift uncomfortably in his seat, and his side protests at the awkward movement. He remembers how the shot had felt – like a metal beam shoved into his side, knocking him backwards and sideways and drawing the breath from his chest, leaving him gasping. He’d been shot before, of course, by blasters, but a bowcaster was different – especially since there was only one being he knew that still used such a weapon, and _that_ particular thought made his chest ache far more noticeably than his side.

His bleary recovery had not given him much time for coherent thought about the events that he had been recovering from. He had decided it best not to think too much on the act that he’d committed there on that bridge. It hurt, and that was the worst part about it – not the pain, but the fact that he was bothered so badly by what he had done. He was supposed to feel nothing from it, as Snoke had told him, but there he had been during his feverish, sleepless nights of recovery plagued by regret and guilt and fright.

“Where are we going?” Hux asks, eventually. An actual voice breaking through the humming silence is strange – it’s almost startling.

“I sent you co-ordinates,” Kylo replies, because he had. Hux could’ve easily looked up which planet they were headed toward.

“I know that. Where are we going, _specifically,”_ Hux reiterates.

“To retrieve an artefact,” Kylo says, because he knows it’ll bother Hux. He refrains from smirking. If he’s not allowed to kill the man, then he’ll just have to compensate with annoying him beyond all hell. It’s easy.

Hux decides to ignore him.

Not knowing enough about where they’re going or what they’re doing bothers Hux far more than he’d appreciate or like to let on. He hates not knowing, but hates bickering with Ren for information just as much. He looks up all of the files that the First Order database has on this little backplanet that they’re heading towards, reads over them for a second time – he’s already done this earlier, but takes the opportunity to glean them for more information he might’ve missed. AN-031 is its designated number. The files provide very little information, unfortunately, no matter how deep he digs. The planet seems to have a strangely large amount of significant history, but the details of said history has not been gathered by the Order.

The shuttle moves silently through space smoothly, with no malfunction and only the low humming of engines to accompany them. The silence is tense, as would be expected, and neither of them really want to be there – well, Hux definitely doesn’t. Kylo’s probably excited about all the magical bullshit they’re on their way to discover.

Kylo has been staring at the control panels in front of him for a few hours now, and Hux finds himself impressed by how still the Knight can sit for so long. The General himself has never been good at shutting off his mind, or sitting still for very long (something about micromanagement and overthinking), so by now he’s already restless. It’s uncomfortable, to be sleep-deprived and tired whilst simultaneously full of restless energy. He places the datapad to the side and sits back in the co-pilot’s chair, crossing his arms over his chest. With a glance to the control panel in front of him, he knows there are still several hours of travel to go before they even drop out of hyperspace.

-

The command shuttle slips out of hyperdrive easily and smoothly, without so much as a slight jolt and the absence of white lines stretched across the front window. Kylo guides the shuttle down in a slight angle, and immediately spots AN-031 in the distance – a tiny blue planet, the same hues all over. The Knight glances beside him at Hux in the co-pilots chair. The General had dropped to sleep a few hours beforehand, something that had admittedly surprised Kylo. Hux didn’t hold one ounce of trust for the Knight, and so allowing himself to sleep so easily in his presence was…strange. Kylo does not bother to wake the dozing General.

As the shuttle nears the planet under Kylo’s guidance, something seems to rouse his travelling companion, and Hux blinks himself awake. A soft expression of confusion twists his face, and Kylo can’t quite figure out the cause of it, but watches out of the corner of his eye as the General gets to his feet and stretches slightly, already moving closer to the window to look out at the planet beyond with scrutiny. He looks transfixed, for some reason that Kylo can’t figure out – surely he’s seen dozens of small ice-planets before, so why is this one any special? The General remains silent even as he moves from the window and back to his seat, and doesn’t look at Ren.

-

Kylo brings the shuttle down to land on a small outcrop of icy grass, at the flat crest of a hill upon the planet. Hux had watched the Knight fly the shuttle and land it with mild interest, wondering if Kylo knew where he was going. He knew Kylo Ren was far too likely not to provide a decent answer, and so left the issue by itself and let the Knight get on with it.

As far as Hux could figure out, he was just there as collateral damage. Snoke wasn’t subtle about wanting to get rid of him and replace him with someone else to run the _Finalizer_ and the First Order. Hux isn’t about to give in to death, but he figures this trip was not supposed to be pleasant and Snoke would not force his apprentice to drag along his rival on an errand unless there was a solid reason or purpose. If Snoke just wanted the General dead, he could’ve done it already with no issue. Hux decides not to dwell on what possible scenarios might befall him on this trip (or imagine what horrific ways he might die, even on this one planet alone. Hopefully he’d at least make it to the final destination).

Once the command shuttle has touched ground, Kylo swoops from his seat and pushes the command to lower the ship’s ramp, then switches off the ship’s engines and controls and communications. The Knight is already dressed for cold weather, and marches down to the planet’s surface carrying only his lightsaber and a bag he snatches from one of the seats nailed to the wall. Hux already feels disgruntled from sitting still so long, his hair in slight disarray from allowing himself to fall asleep on the way over here, so welcomes the immediate chance to get up and move around. He follows the Knight down the ramp a few moments later, figuring he should bring his own belongings as well, sensing that they would not be returning to the shuttle until the artefact was recovered.

The ice-planet is not exactly as horrifically icy as one might expect from the name, but the grassy hillside is covered in a thin layer of frost and snow. An icy wind whips the General’s coattails around, and he congratulates himself on not bringing his hat – it would’ve been a nightmare to keep a hold of in this gale. Tall mountains loom in the distance from where Hux can see, and everything about this place is jagged and cold and unpleasant – there is scarcely any vegetation around, except for the wiry grass that covers the ground, drowning in snow. He can see, just beyond this stretch of hills and valleys, the wide spread of a half-frozen ocean or large lake, mottled with sections of broken ice and deep navy liquid. He hopes they won’t be heading anywhere near that; he is certainly not interested in freezing to death over there. He’d rather do it on land. Kylo Ren had neglected to wait for the General, and is already marching on ahead a few dozen feet from the shuttle. As soon as Hux’s feet touch the ground, the ramp behind him hisses softly and rises back up and the shuttle seems to sink into a silent slumber characteristic of all powered-down ships.

And so they walk. Hux wishes for a speeder and warmer boots. He curses force-users and their ridiculous theatrics and laments the fact that this trip’ll be the end of him and _how_ , in all seven hells, did he get stuck with _Kylo Ren_ of all people? Kylo Ren, who questioned his methods, his father’s methods, chased after nameless scavenger girls and traitors and small orange robots, who performed patricide and Starkillercide and was an endless source of irritation, who lost several years of Hux’s hard work because the General had failed to plan accordingly.

Kylo wishes he was better at ignoring thoughts being ignorantly shouted through the force. No matter how silent the General believes he is remaining, as they trudge through the snow, Kylo can feel that same nervous energy rolling off the man in waves. It’s strange, how such a master of control could be so jumpy when he thought no one was listening. Kylo knows the temple he’s seeking is another few hours’ march in a that-way kind of direction, but he finds himself hoping the place’ll loom into view within the next few minutes.


End file.
